Cinema companies such as Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE) and Everyman Media Group PLC (AIM:EMAN) are expecting to reap the rewards of the “Barbenheimer” social media meme.
Hundreds of thousands of people have bought tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, according to an FT report, citing Comscore.
This is a “maybe a once-in-a-decade” moment for cinemas, said Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Leisue analyst Mark Brumby at Langton Capital said film buffs are "fretting" about the upcoming clash between Barbie and Oppenheimer.
"They’re asking if you can’t watch both films the instant they hit the screens, will it ruin your life, etc. and, presumably in order to help them out, a Barbenheimer industry has sprung up whereby you can purchase T-shirts, posters and mugs featuring a mashup of both films.
"And some of them look rather good.
"Not that I’ll be wearing such a T-shirt in EC2 any time soon. But the pics are suitably jarring though, I have to say, I’d have thought the obvious one was to have an inanely grinning Ken saying ‘I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’ whilst supping a soda and carrying a surfboard."
North American box office sales for the Barbie Movie are estimated to come in at US$100mln at least, with Oppenheimer forecast to generate around US$50mln.